Hymn of a Heart
by Luhlia
Summary: Edward's beliefs are questioned. He sees the ghost of his doubts and fears from a mysterious girl's eyes. A little romance, some EdxOC and some EdxWin. Its K friendly too.
1. Ein

**Disclaimer: '**Full Metal Alchemist' and the song 'I'll Follow You into the Dark' is not mine.

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_Love of mine someday you will die_

_But I'll be close behind_

_I'll follow you into the dark_

_No blinding light or tunnels to gates of white_

_Just our hands clasp so tight_

_Waiting for the hint of a spark_

Edward suddenly hears a beautiful voice singing, it was smooth, soft, almost ethereal yet melancholic. He feels a certain tug in him that he couldn't quite explain. He wants to know whose voice it belongs to. So he decides to follow the sound leading him into one of the rooms across the hall. He leans an ear towards the door and hears the voice clearer somehow. As he was about to open the door he hears Al call him at the end of the hallway from where he came from. Al informs him that Colonel Mustang wants to talk him about some new assignment on a far wayward village. He looks frustratingly at the door with his hand hanging on the air already about to grab the handle. He shakes his head, sighs and walks off not noticing that the singing has stopped. _Next time_, he thinks, maybe next time he'll hear it again and know whose voice that was

When he enters Mustang's office he casually sits on the couch looking expectant and bored at the same time with Al by his side. The colonel finishes signing the papers and stacks them up in a pile in front of him. He stands up and sits on the couch opposite to where the brothers are sitting. Roy Mustang, the Fire Alchemist, purses his lips and looks at him with eyes of a raging storm as if what he is about to say is such a burden.

"You'll be going to Thebel in two days. We received reports about someone who can control the weather there, the villagers believe that person to be some kind of deity. Look into it." Edward raises his brow.

"You think it could be something like in Lior?" He asks, remembering that time when he was accused to be some kind of 'unbeliever' or along the lines of heretic.

"Yes. It can also be something different and" Mustang pauses, "_big_."

"I see, so anything more?" He must have sounded rushing, but he couldn't help it he's hungry, he hasn't eaten lunch yet and it's already passed noon, alchemists could die out of hunger too.

"There is. You're assigned with a new _colleague_ in addition to your team with Al." He couldn't have heard that wrong, but to say that he was surprised is an understatement. Edward frowns.

"Is there something wrong with our work? I perfectly remember that our performance is positively well taken and our missions are successful, although there mostly are casualties but I don't see it to be much discrediting. Al and I can manage by ourselves."

"Of course everyone knows that. Don't take this negatively. The higher ups decided that you need this particular kind of assistance for this kind of mission. Personally, I wouldn't want her going with you but they see it would be very helpful." Roy uncharacteristically rakes his hair with his right hand as if exasperated.

"Her? Are you referring to Miss Hawkeye?" Al asks suddenly, his silence broken with curiosity.

"No. Not her, you're just about to meet who."

As if on cue, a knock sounds from the door with Riza Hawkeye's voice addressing her or rather their presence. She opens the door and immaculately steps inside the office with a girl in tow, her light footsteps in contrast with the officer's firm one.

Edward tilts his head sideways and sees a girl about a year younger than him, her waist-length silver hair framing her face and shoulders elegantly, the pitch blackness of her dress highlighting her pale snow white skin, and her red eyes, he notices, are gazing intently on him.

His mouth goes dry and he feels like there is a lump on his throat. There is nothing really special on how she looks at him, but her eyes pierces him, holds him captive as if he lays naked in front of her, his knowledge and alchemy stripped away from him. He clenches his fist and stiffens to stop a shiver that was about to run down his spine. It had only been a minute, but to Edward it felt like she's already seen all years of his life with just a single stare, with just a moment of locking of eyes. He tears his gaze away from her and sees that both Riza and Roy (who seems to be amused) are measuring his expression. He looks at Al and finds his brother mesmerized with the same pair of mystical bloody orbs.

"This is Alice, the Hymn Alchemist, or mostly referred as The Witch." Mustang introduces the girl and in a split second she bows her head in acknowledgement. Al jerks awake in his stupor, his body of armor rattles slightly.

"The Full Metal Alchemist Edward Elric and his little brother Alphonse Elric." The colonel motions a hand towards them.

"I know." The girl, Alice, answers softly.

"Of course, It's for formalities sake Alice." Edward remarks that Roy's voice was almost light unlike his usual tone, _almost_. She looks at Roy and her small pink lips curve upwards as if to resemble a smile, although it wasn't. She returns her gaze towards him and Al; however it has a different feel to it unlike earlier he realizes; now it was welcoming and warm like a tender embrace. She blinks and Edward snaps out as if he felt a connection break.

"I'm pleased to meet you. I hope to not be a burden." Alice tips down her head again and does not look up anymore. It was only then that the information sinks in.

"Wait, witch?" He mutters with confusion in his eyes, but Roy does not hear him for he was already briefing them once again. He wants to ask Roy the questions going two miles a minute on his mind, wants to tell him to repeat what he's said, but Edward doesn't and he wonders to himself what did that girl do to him to cause this sudden lapse of brain functioning. The last words he hear from the colonel was even a blur.

"Use those two days to accustom yourselves with each other."

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**A/N: **My first FMA fanfic. Please review and if you want flame away.

I'll Follow You into the Dark is by Death Cab. To know what the voice sounds like, search for katethegreat19 at you tube and look for her fan cover. She sounds very beautiful.


	2. Zwei

**Disclaimer:** Full Metal Alchemist is not mine.

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When you wish for time to go faster it only ends up getting slower. Edward couldn't agree more. Although it was, of course, impossible for time to go slow by merely thinking of the opposite, but spending those two days, to him, feels like waiting for a week.

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**Day 1**

He spends the morning training with Al, with Alice watching, which is really not necessary except that Mustang _pressed_ on to have her tag along with them. He pays no mind at her presence, occasionally sparing a glimpse in her direction while exchanging punches and kicks with Al. Somehow they end up using alchemy, which is more for his brother's sake than his. He feels a nagging irritation inside him and couldn't quite concentrate, fortunately his brother doesn't notice.

He senses her intense gaze on him regardless that she is looking at them both. Even so he's convinced that she's focusing on him, feels her watching him, observing, speculating, and sizing him up with an unknown standard of importance.

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He's all sweaty now, feeling lethargic, and a rumble in his stomach pronounces that his hungry. He takes his red coat hanging on a post and tells Al that he'll be eating lunch after he showers. He hears Al invite her politely to eat with them (more like with him) and pretends to be indifferent about it. She answers with a soft but firm 'Yes, thank you' and the both of them trail behind him. He does not look behind but he's sure she's boring a hole in his head.

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Edward eats his food unceremoniously, still in the state of ignoring her, not like she's different. They after all seem to have an unspoken mutual understanding of blatantly dispensing each other. She hasn't spoken anything to him aside from the good morning he received earlier while he only gave lofty statements here and there. He doesn't really care whatever she do and say or if she doesn't actually say anything (maybe that was half true).

He doesn't want to know her, doesn't want to get close to her, or befriend her, or get attached to her. She's only another dog of the military and a mission is only a duty, so the two days are nothing but duty and not a getting-to-know-each-other kind of thing. As far as his experience goes he already knows of risks in combat, dangers of war, and expense of fighting, of losses; of being in the military.

But looking at her, at her petite almost skinny body, small dainty wrists, delicate neck, and thin limbs, he couldn't help but think she's so fragile. So easy to break.

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Al does feel the constraining atmosphere, he may be young and naïve at times but he's not insensitive. His nii-san and Alice appears to be in a cold war and he couldn't quite figure how that could be since they've only met her the day before.

He believes Alice is a nice girl, looks quite pleasant too, and maybe shy that's why she doesn't speak much. She only responds when asked and comments when prompted to. Alphonse knows that his brother is a good person and is not one to be ill-mannered towards people especially girls that does them no harm, so it really baffles him why his brother would give Alice a cold shoulder. And again, he comes to the conclusion that maybe because Alice doesn't have the courage to speak about herself and his nii-san is too proud to bother asking, leading them to thinking that they are disliked by the other. Or it could be simple as they really just don't appeal to each other. But Al would have none of it since he gets the awkward end (middle actually) of the stick. So he takes it upon himself to amend the situation.

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"Alice, if I may ask, why are you called the Hymn Alchemist?" This question catches Edward's attention and Al is quite delighted with the opportunity. It is after all a question of common ground.

"I can use songs to perform alchemy." She's long been finished eating and is only playing with her teaspoon Edward notices.

"What songs? Like some kind of verses or spells?" Al continues his inquiry; Ed slouches and looks unconcerned at her.

"No. They're–" she hesitates "phrases of alchemy knowledge." She looks at him and apprehends what his reaction would be, but he remains passive.

"From the gate." This is what shocks him, and before he could control his self he utters the questions that are running on his mind.

"You've seen it? How far did you see? What kind of phrases?" He becomes frantic and he feels his body tingling in excitement and curiosity only to be shattered by her response.

"I can't tell you."

"What?" But she ignores him and proceeds to drink her tea. Al catches up.

"But you're not missing anything like my brother, or have you offered some–" Although Al doesn't get to finish his question as he realizes that it would come out wrong, offensive, accusing, and would only worsen the situation.

"I don't know." She sounds uncertain and desolate, and the look on her face that she tries to hide is so much of a giveaway that she's telling the truth and doesn't really have any idea at all. She somehow finds her fingers very interesting.

"Uhm…" Al starts but he doesn't really know what to say. Edward asks it for the both of them.

"What do you mean?" His voice not actually grave but strong with a hint of sympathy.

"I don't remember. I don't have any memories of my life before I was taken in by the military."

"We're sorry." Al says, giving the empathy his brother would not express.

"You needn't be." And her tone changes, as if she did not just have a moment of solemnity or maybe she dispelled it realizing it is unwelcome in a soldier's heart, and for that he deems her apprehensive.

"I expected that you would have been more curious why I was dubbed the 'Witch', I guessed wrong." She looks at both of them suggestively and businesslike, but Edward can't be fooled by that anymore since they've managed to chip off a fragment of her mask (he brushes off the possibility that she could simply be bipolar), so he believes that there is more to her than an apathetic girl with piercing eyes.

"Yes about that, how come?" Al asks timidly and penchant.

"Because I can enchant with my voice, hypnotizing they say, it comes with my alchemy" she wets her lips before continuing "and because I'm a clairvoyant. I see through people just by looking at their eyes." Then she smiles knowingly, as if what she said holds an inner joke only she understands or a secret she only knows; and _maybe_, Edward thinks, the notion isn't far off.

"So that's what it was, the feeling when we first met, you were _probing_ us." He scowls at her in indignation.

"Yes, I apologize. It is rather disrespectful to intrude in your mind." She says with an unreadable expression, looking not quite sorry at all.

"Although it is one of the reasons they call me a witch, for knowing beyond people's reason and instilling anxiety in their hearts, and I just couldn't help looking."

"Also, I was intrigued by the two of you, Miss Hawkeye and Sir Armstrong's stories about you were very quaint, even Roy's." Edward takes note that she calls Mustang just by name.

"Quaint stories?" Al couldn't help but ask.

"Yes. They tell me things about you but not much so I decided to _see_ for myself." She trails off by the end of her sentence.

"Curiosity killed the cat you know." Edward sneers.

"Nothing but an old adage"

"Look –" He gets cut off, one of the things he hate but he listens to her because it seems she was about to say something that wouldn't annoy him.

"I really am sorry. I may not be…easy to get along with but please bear with me until we finish our mission, at least until then." She says it with sincerity that causes him to soften a _little _and because her smile is so friendly, and because he thinks that she looks beautiful with it adorning her face, suits her more than the blank canvas she wore.

"Fine, whatever" He answers dismissingly while Al gives an enthusiastic 'yes'.

He sighs wearily and stands from his seat signaling the two that it was time to go. They walk her back to the colonel's office because Mustang instructed them to and _not_ because he's concerned about her.

That night Edward couldn't help but think of silver strands and red eyes.

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**Day 2**

Alice wasn't able to go with them that morning, apparently there was something she had to do, and wasn't he glad.

It was in the afternoon that they meet her at the headquarters. Al, his ever so kind brother, invites her to have a stroll in the park with them. She declines courteously, saying she has to go to the library to return some books she borrowed; which Ed distinguishes were fairy tales, myths, _and was that a classical_, and one about a scientific theory.

He wonders why his brother had to be such a gentleman at that moment. He curses inwardly.

So they head to the library, his shoulders slump with the two conversing merrily behind him about the story of some girl who gets lost in a stupid upside down world.

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After returning the book they eventually take a walk on the park, and suddenly Ed remembers that he was suppose to get something from the apothecary.

He leaves them in front of an antique shop across the street, instructing them to wait for him there, and telling Al not to leave the girl alone.

He doesn't take much of a minute to return only to find them both missing at the spot where he left them. He shakes his head in annoyance, it was probably Alice's fault, Al doesn't go as much to disobey him when he's right and he knows his brother is not a person of mischief. That was him. So it really must be that girl's insinuation.

He walks down the street and there by the corner alley he finds her surrounded by five men, each one of them leering at her. He identifies them as common thugs and finds the idea absurd, common thugs at the Central is _truly_ absurd.

A girl as small and young as her would have been frightened in that state. But she does not cower in fear or shake, instead she stands tall, unwavering, staring down at the men as if they were repugnant insects at her feet. And for that he gives her more respect.

One of them grabs her shoulder while another one grips her jaw. He was about to interfere when he sees her mutter something with disgust but the men only laughs at her. Edward couldn't hear from where he's standing but he is sure that she's given them a warning. He should have helped her by now but he only stands there, waiting in anticipation what she would do, his instinct tells him to just stay and watch.

Her mouth moves in a whisper, and the two holding her began to convulse sporadically while the other three stands in confusion. Ed realizes she's singing, and he badly wants to hear, so he sprints into a run to cover the distance between them. But she stops, and he stops too. She moves swiftly and elbows one on the stomach and the other one falls with a roundhouse kick on the neck. But her punch is not strong enough and she's not fast enough, so the one she elbowed grapples her from behind while the lucky bastard she hadn't hit yet mashes her face with a punch.

Her head lurches backward from the impact, her face marred with red and pink and a bruise. Edward snaps out of his trance and decides to meddle this time; he's probably going to get an earful from Mustang because of that pink deformation in pale flesh.

But he hasn't even had taken three steps away from where was standing when the two men falls down convulsing. He sees her glare down at them and spits the blood on her mouth.

Edward stands there mouth agape and eyes wide like a saucer. All five men lie unconsciously on the ground. He couldn't believe she could fight like that. She's too thin, looks weak, and he slaps himself inwardly for forgetting that she's still a soldier how helpless she might look. It was kind of degrading her, and again his impression of her changes.

He walks to her while she brushes non-existent dirt on her blue knee-length dress (how she was able to kick wearing that was another mystery to him) and brushing off dried blood at her lips. He raises an eyebrow at her when she notices him.

"Sorry. They dragged me here." She explains, but once again not a hint of repentance can be traced in her voice.

Al chose to arrive at that moment holding two chocolate ice cream, confused and worried as to why both of them weren't at the rendezvous point. Alice apologizes and explains more thoroughly.

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They walk back to the headquarters side by side with Alice between him and Al. He berates them for going against his orders, for Al going off to buy ice cream just because Alice said she wants to taste one, they could've just waited for him, and Alice for stupidly getting dragged by hooligans.

Alice is not even listening, completely lost in her cold delight.

Al apologizes and reminds him that his ice cream is melting.

"Don't go off by yourself again. Always stay with me or Al, you hear me?" He says before he starts eating his ice cream.

Alice only nods.

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Edward stayed there to ask questions but all he (and Al) got from the Fire Alchemist were instructions (more like demands) on how to 'handle' Alice. There were a lot of dos and don'ts and they're all going to give him a headache. He was acting like a father entrusting his daughter to a nanny, well Ed's no nanny, and he decides he would deal with her in his own way.

He was right that the _pompous_ colonel will chew his ear until there's nothing left of it. The moment he sees the pink mark on her cheek Edward received a full blown bump on the head for 'not taking care of Alice competently.' After hours of scolding he seems to have gotten tired, thankfully.

Edward takes the opportunity immediately and gets straight to the point.

"Now, I have questions and you have to_ answer_ them." Mustang only furrows his eyebrows in response.

"She said she has seen the gate but she doesn't remember anything. And what of the equivalent exchange?" His voice was grave.

"I thought you won't have wanted anything to do with someone like her?"

"Don't change the topic!"

"We were also intrigued by such occurrence but as long as she doesn't remember anything there's nobody who can answer that."

"What does she mean by she's _taken in_ by the military."

"Well, she's been orphaned. Her father was a State Alchemist, and because of her talent the Fuhrer recommended to have her take the test after honing her abilities."

"Why does she call you _Roy_?" Edward drawls his name.

"So?"

"Isn't that a bit too casual or _maybe_ you're whipped by her?" Ed laughs boisterously.

"I…took her under my care, like an older brother, and I'm not whipped. I let her call me that." Mustang glares at him.

"She has silver hair and red eyes, but snow white skin." It was a statement not a question but Edward waits for an answer.

Roy Mustang's knuckles turn pale.

"Her mother is an Ishbalian."

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**A/N: **Please review and if you want, flame away!

Note: If you know Pandora Hearts then Alice looks like the 'white Alice' or will of the abyss, but with red eyes.


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